Tasty snacks, shame about the MSG
Tasty snacks, shame about the MSG
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A research center has warned consumers of children's snack
products which contain the carcinogen, monosodium glutamate
(MSG), without mentioning the substance in the list of
ingredients on their packages, and urged the government to
withdraw them from the market.
The Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center (PIRAC) said
on Thursday it had discovered 13 brands of snacks that contained
MSG, but failed to mention it on their packages, either in part
or in its entirety.
The brands are among those snacks widely sold and most popular
among children, said Nurhasan of PIRAC as quoted by Antara.
Of the brands examined, seven contain MSG but do not mention
it on their packages, two mention MSG as an ingredient but fail
to tell the amount it contains, and the other four mention the
use of chemical flavoring but not the amount of additive MSG.
The study showed that the amount of MSG in the snacks ranged
between 0.46 percent and 1.59 percent.
Excessive consumption of the MSG chemical additive may cause
liver problems, trauma, hypertension, stress, fever, allergic
reactions, nausea, headaches, migraines, asthma, depression and
neurological damage. The substance is also not recommended for
consumption by pregnant women, as it will affect the fetus.
Some experts believe that a maximum 12 milligrams of MSG per
day could be dangerous.
PIRAC deemed that the snack producers had misled consumers by
not mentioning the presence of MSG or the amount contained in the
snacks, which violates Law No. 8/1999 on consumer protection and
Government Regulation No. 69/1999 on labeling and advertisement
of food products.
"The BPOM has to order the withdrawal of the products from the
market, unless the producers stop misleading consumers," Nurhasan
said, referring to the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency.
He suggested that BPOM require producers to inform consumers
about the side effects of MSG consumption on their packages, as
cigarette producers have done. -- JP